I want you to Proxy

What is Proxying?

Let’s get started by defining our key term for today, as folks who are less deep into TCG culture may not know. A Proxy is a card that is standing in for another card inside of a game. While this is not specific to just cards, you can proxy any game piece for any game, cards are the main topic of discussion for today. A proxy card can be another card from the same game that you pretend is a different card. It can be a card from a totally different game that you are using to stand in for a card within the game that you are playing. Or, most commonly, it is a paper or cardstock print off of the card you wish to play with but do not own an official copy for.

As a player, I support Proxying

TCGs specifically are a VERY expensive hobby. Or at least, they can be. Prices keep going up and its no secret. MSRP in hobby stores is a mere suggestion and something from the last decade. Prices on booster boxes go up while the number of packs inside go down. More and more rarities keep getting invented for our favorite games just to make getting the cards you need even harder. We all love these games and want to play them together. Your wallet should not be a barrier to that. If you cannot afford the card you need, just proxy and play with your friends! As I always say, if it’s not fun then what’s the point?

As a toy store owner, I support Proxying

Out of all the hats I wear in my career, you may be surprised to hear that I don’t care if you proxy in my store. Why is that? Isn’t it my job to sell cards to people? Yes, and allowing proxy play actually helps that. If a player can afford the card they need for their deck, they will typically buy it. It’s rare that is not the case. Therefore, the majority of people that do proxy do so to either try something out, because they are on a tight budget, they forgot the card at home, or because they ordered the card but it has not yet arrived. Why would I want to exclude those players? Why would I not want their $5~$20 entry fee for the tournament? Yes sir/ma’am I will gladly take your money. Go have fun. See you next week. A happy customer is a customer that spends money.

As a game designer, I support Proxying

I will answer this particular “why” with a question of my own. “Are Hearthstone, Shadowverse, and other various digital card games profitable?” Yes, obviously. But how, aren’t they totally free to play? Can’t you just get everything in the game by playing for free, technically? Yes. Yes you can. But these games are massively profitable partially BECAUSE they are free. It’s that ease of access that allows for easy user on boarding. Once a player tries the game, there’s a good chance that they will spend money if they had a good time. However, it’s even MORE than that. The free users add value to the PAID users and get them to spend even more. Free players are people to PLAY with and no one spends money on a game if no one is going to play it with them. If you run a tight enough ship, you can have an entire game supported by a very small handful of players that actually do buy all the cards and a massive pool of players that just enjoy the game casually for free. This also is why we make an official Tabletop Simulator mod for all of the games we make. We WANT people to try all of our games for free. That’s how you get lifelong fans.

As a games publisher/distributor, I support Proxying

I’ll admit it, this particular “hat” of mine is more a “I don’t care, it doesn’t affect my business” than a full out support of proxying. However, there is one advantage. By supporting official print and play files and Tabletop simulator mods, I can reduce the cost on my end. There’s less physical demo decks and free product I need to send out to stores, influencers, and play groups when I can tell them “Just print it yourself, bro.” Saves me a few pennies and that can be nice.

The arguments against Proxying

I’m always someone that likes to present the other side when possible, so let’s talk about the arguments against supporting proxies.

First, it takes money away from game designers, developers, stores, and publishers. While this can be true to a small extent and a small group of people, overall I don’t think this is a good argument. I view it similar to emulating video games. The VAST majority of the time, if your game is easily available to buy, the people that fully proxy your game were NEVER going to be paying customers anyway.

Secondly, I have heard the argument that proxying itself IS piracy. While I think that’s a little bit of a stretch, let’s roll with it. How you solve that as the game’s creator is just make it not piracy. Give people access to free ways to play without having to unofficially print off your cards and all of a sudden that is a player that is now in your orbit and on your mailing list and in your communities. Make print and play files. Publish a TTS mod. Put your game on tabletopia. Now that’s a user that could have been on the fringes that is now firmly in your grasp.

How YOU can Proxy all of my cards

I put my money where my mouth is. Print off everything I have ever made for free right now. Do it! We put up print and play files for most of our titles, when we upload a card image (like the one you see here) that is our REAL print file that we use to print the cards officially. Please use them to your heart’s content. We also, as I have noted, have a TTS mod for ALL of our games. Play online for free with your friends whenever you want. I know that my fans and customers understand that if they want more of the game made, they will need to financially support us in some way and however they can. I just don’t want that financial support to be a requirement to enjoy and try our games.